RP rice inventory rises to 2.77M tons

The Philippines' rice inventory totaled 2.77 million metric tons (MT) as of April 30, from 2.25 million MT in March. The National Food Authority estimated that total rice stocks in April would last for 77 days. Stocks in government warehouses would be good for 35 days, while those in commercial warehouses would last for 12 days and household stocks for 30 days. The Department of Agriculture said in a report that rice stocks in government warehouses, as well as in commercial and household inventories all went up last month. Household stocks grew by 19.1 percent to 1.069 million MT from 898,200 MT. The commercial sector’s holdings rose by 9.6 percent to 421,300 MT from 383,400 MT. The volume of rice held by government warehouses, which consisted of 96 percent imported rice, also grew by 32.2 percent at 1.281 million MT from 969,300 MT in the same comparable months. —VS, GMANews.TV